''When They Lay Bare'' (1999) is the third novel by Scottish writer

Andrew Greig Andrew Greig (born 23 September 1951) is a Scottish writer. He was born in Bannockburn, near Stirling, and grew up in Anstruther, Fife. He studied philosophy at the University of Edinburgh and is a former Glasgow University Writing Fellow and ...

Plot summary

A mysterious young woman moves into deserted Crawhill cottage on the estate of Sir Simon Elliot in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. He fears she is the daughter of his mistress: "If it wasn't the child, Sim wondered, who was she and what the hell was she doing moving into Crawhill? And if it was her, what had she came back for, why had she not come to see him? Instead she had taken up residence in the cottage and waited. What did the lassie want with Davy?" The novel is based around a set of antique plates that the young woman brings with her, depicting the Border Ballads, "

Twa Corbies "The Three Ravens" () is an English folk ballad, printed in the song book ''Melismata'' compiled by Thomas Ravenscroft and published in 1611, but it is perhaps older than that. Newer versions (with different music) were recorded right up throug ...

" and " Barbara Allen".

References

External links

Andrew Greig's website

On GoodReads
1999 British novels Novels by Andrew Greig Scottish novels Novels set in the Scottish Borders Faber and Faber books {{1990s-novel-stub